Pyongyang may set date of return to nuclear disarmament talks

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) will announce a timetable to return to the Six-Party Talks during US envoy Stephen Bosworth's visit to the country next week, a Japanese newspaper reported yesterday.

Pyongyang is likely to announce the date of its resumption of negotiations as a "gift" during the US official's visit, according to Sankei Shimbun, who cited an anonymous Japanese foreign ministry official.

If the official is correct, it will conclude months of intense international lobbying of the DPRK since it walked away from the negotiating table in April, when the United Nations condemned its rocket launches.